Swordsmasters
by Lady Maeror
Summary: "Me and you. One on one. Warrior against warrior." Horace vs. Gilan. Because it was bound to happen. R&R. No Flames.
1. Challenge

**Author's Note:**

Thanks for the reviews on _Hero, _I haven't had time to update it :|But I will, eventually. In the meantime I came up with this. It's 2-chaptered since its 1am... Set somewhere after Book 9. (Why do I love that section in the series, I have no idea.)

It was quite fun to write, really got me in the mood for RA fiction. Might update _Majesty_ or another story soon too ^ ^

You know the drill, no flames etc.

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><p><strong>Swordsmasters<strong>

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><p>For the Ranger Corps Commandant's birthday, it was a small, coveted affair made up of those who he considered his closest friends and advisers.<p>

Crowley had been gifted from the King of Araluen, Duncan, a few days before hand. Duncan knew of his friend's secretive nature and decided that it would at least have a chance at being kept secret if the King wasn't there. The two were close friends and since they were within the same Fief, they could celebrate Crowley's birthday without a retinue of guards.

Many Ranger's had arrived, but not all since they had Fief's to look after. Others from all tiers of society had also come. Most noticeably were Rangers Halt and Will, who were stationed at Redmont Fief. Alongside them was the Swordsmaster Horace, who stationed at Crowley's Fief, Araluen.

The event was held on the private lands of the King, outside Castle Araluen and away from prying eyes of nearby villagers. It was simple in execution, Ranger's were solitary and subtle people and being the head of the Corps, Crowley was no different.

All in all it was an enjoyable festivity, where everyone happily celebrated another year into their friend's life.

Evanlyn, (who was actually Princess Cassandra in disguise), happily mingled with the gathered people; most of who were her advisers as well. Since Crowley was Castle Araluen's Ranger, she had been allowed to slip unnoticed into the celebration. In any event, she adored being able to pretend she wasn't the heir to the throne.

She stood apart from Crowley as he conversed with Halt and Lady Pauline, no doubt retelling stories of them when they were younger.

To her left she could see Gilan and Will having a friendly banter about who had the best shooting ability. Everyone knew that Will was a fantastic shot with his longbow, almost and sometimes arguably better than his former mentor. But Gilan was more experienced as well as a highly talented Ranger.

"I think you're all talk." Will voiced loudly, grinning stupidly as he did, but he said it jokingly.

Gilan rolled his eyes. "Alright, I've had enough of this. We're seeing who has the better accuracy; we'll let the results speak for themselves."

Will shrugged. "If you say so Gil."

The two Ranger's made their way over to their horses to secure some arrows as well as their bows. Evanlyn could still see them arguing from her position, but she knew that despite all their challenging of each other, the two were good, firm friends. It was all fun and games.

Horace came to stand beside her, looking very comfortable in his usual knight regalia. She knew he hated dressing for formal occasions and had to smile at his enthusiasm. He sighed with contentment.

"Having fun?" He asked her idly.

"Yes, I am actually."

"What are they up to?" He asked her curiously, his blue eyes following the two Rangers.

"Gilan challenged Will." She told him, smiling slightly.

"Ah."

"No comment on the matter?"

Horace shrugged noncommittally. "Everyone knows Will is the better shot. Gilan's a master at unseen movement; they have their own elite skills."

Evanlyn grinned. "You're right, but it'll still be fun to watch."

Gilan and Will returned, each sporting their trademark quiver and longbow.

"You can go first." Will told the older Ranger. "Pick your target."

Gilan raised his eyebrows. "How generous of you." He noted sarcastically, but Evanlyn could hear the humour within his tone. The unusually tall Ranger sighted a target, one of the few trees that lay on the outskirts of Castle Araluen's borders; the distance was quite far even for a longbow, which would make accuracy harder. Allowing himself a few seconds to adjust his aim, he let the black-shafted arrow fly loose: straight in the centre of the tree.

Will nodded. "Great shot Gil." His tone relayed the sincerity. Because after all, Gilan had made a very good shot. Few archers in the Kingdom could achieve it.

"Your turn." Gilan nodded towards Will.

Usually, Will wasn't one to show off. Usually he shied away from praise and tried to make people see the real events that happened. But today he felt he needed to defend his honour. He took aim, within the same time Gilan had, and let the arrow fly loose.

Unsurprisingly, it landed smack-bang in the middle of Gilan's own arrow.

Gilan laughed, a deep hearty sound that displayed his humility. "Okay, you're right; you have much better aim then me." He admitted, grinning broadly.

"What have I told you? Practise!" Halt scolded from his place next to Lady Pauline.

Gilan laughed again, unfazed by his former mentor's prying. "I've been practising since you told me that Halt. Face it, he's a natural."

Halt grunted slightly, folding his arms as he did. "Well then use your other talents. Didn't I teach you anything?"

"What? For me to fight against him with my sword? That's not very fair." Gilan scoffed.

"I'm sure I could defend myself." Will voiced, still smiling.

"Swordsman against swordsman?" Gilan asked, bemused. "I don't think so."

Halt nodded. "See? Now you're thinking. You're a Swordsmaster after all; there are few people in this Kingdom who could beat you."

"Maybe I couldn't." Will agreed. "But I know someone who could." Gilan and Halt frowned momentarily. Seeing the confusion on their faces, Will told them helpfully, "Horace could do it, I bet."

From his spot where he leant lazily against a tree, Horace jumped slightly at his sudden involvement. Evanlyn suppressed a giggle.

"I know Horace is a fantastic knight and all Will, but Gilan has studied under MacNeil." Halt informed him.

Will was suddenly very eager to defend his friend. He totally missed the light tone of his former mentor's, and might have caught on that he was being toyed with, if he wasn't so excited about the prospect of finding out who was the greater Swordsmaster. "But Horace was knighted at such a young age. And he's Cassandra's Champion. That has to show for something, right?"

Halt nodded slightly. "Well I suppose it does." He voiced neutrally.

Will glanced back at his friend, ignoring the look of apprehension across Horace's face. "So? Let's see. Let's find out who's the master here."

Gilan smiled brightly at the idea. "I've already been beaten today; I have to find some way to redeem myself in the eyes of my Commandant," he announced. (At this Crowley placed his palm to his face.)

Horace unfurled his arms and held them up in a gesture of peace. "Hey, wait a minute. No one's asked if I wanted to do this."

Halt shrugged. "As the Princess' Champion you're duty bound to accept a direct challenge. You have your own honour to defend." He noted.

Still looking uneasy, Gilan stepped forward with an outstretched hand. "Come on Horace, it will be me and you. One on one. Warrior against warrior. No hard feelings either." He grinned lopsidedly.

He still looked as if he would refuse. Seeing the action, Will intervened. "And you really can't reject a challenge in front of Evanlyn either." He voiced, nodding in the direction of the undercover Princess.

Horace looked helplessly towards Evanlyn.

In response, she pouted, her bright green eyes begging for him to accept. She knew he had a soft spot for her and was quite interested herself in finding out whether Gilan was strong enough to beat Horace.

Sighing in resignation, Horace straightened up.

"It seems I have no choice. I accept, Gilan."

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><p><strong>AN:**

If you like, drop a review; otherwise sit tight for Chap 2, which shall be soon :)

- Mae.


	2. Accepted

**Author's Note:**

So by now you know that when I say "update soon", really it means, "whenever I have the time/and or inspiration to update."

Because someone even reviewed a story and said it had been a year since an update that kinda shocked me. Honestly it doesn't feel like that, most the time I'll wake up (or go to sleep) with an idea and have to write it down. But if the next part doesn't come to me I'll put it off so I don't put up some half finished piece of writing. Anyway, that's my little explanation. Thanks for those that reviewed!

Bear with me for my not-so-good fight scene descriptions.

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><p><strong>Swordsmasters<strong>

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><p>Horace stood from one end of the clearing, his sword in one hand, hanging limply from the side. It was a heavy, two-handed weapon for this particular duel, (since they were not fighting to the death.) The young knight was confident in his own ability, but at the same time Gilan was in his league, which was a change to the usual contesters to his title of Champion.<p>

In fact, those supporting Gilan had placed a small niggle of doubt within his mind. Perhaps the Ranger _would_ best him in a contest.

"You'll be fine Horace." Evanlyn told him firmly.

"I'm not _that_ worried Cassie, after all my life isn't in danger." He responded, a little defensively. "I have done this before, you know."

The Princess merely shrugged and gave him a small comforting squeeze on the arm before stepping back. She knew he was really reassuring himself more than her but didn't point it out.

"I beat him, because I am more talented at archery. But he's better at unseen movement. And _you're_ better at duels." Will put in helpfully, smiling widely. "Besides, he's joking around more than anything. You'll be alright."

On the other side of the clearing, Gilan stood comfortably, in a far more relaxed state than his younger contender. His sword was also large and broad in style, which almost looked comical for his slimmer frame. Despite the fact that he was much lither and less bulky than Horace, it took little to no effort to wield the huge weapon.

"Ah, this will be enjoyable." He noted joyfully, turning back to grin at his companions.

Crowley had his arms folded and didn't make a comment, preferring to keep his opinion out of the matter. Halt gave his former apprentice a nod, which Gilan took as a show of support.

"Well, Crowley, may as well get this over with." Gilan told his Commandant, giving a nod in his direction.

"Alright, come on then." Crowley voiced and led the way across the clearing to meet Horace.

"This is a duel gentlemen, but I don't want to see you lobbing each other's heads of, you hear?" Crowley demanded as he read out the rules of the contest. "And if the heat of battle goes to your brains, your swords are too blunt to really cause heavy wounds. At the most they'll give hearty bruises."

Horace and Gilan both nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then seeing as you are both willing to follow the rules of combat, let the duel begin!" And with that he stepped back swiftly, making sure to be out of their way when the fighting began.

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><p>Like the trained swordsmen they were, neither Horace nor Gilan were first to lash out. After all it was something amateurs did as a form of surprise. Both men knew each other's weaknesses, and strengths. It would now be a case of catching the other unaware and being very unpredictable.<p>

"It's just a friendly contest." Gilan said while he circled his opponent, "I mean I'm always judged against other Rangers, but this time I get to see how-," _CLASH._

In the midst of speaking, his sword had flickered out in a side cut to take Horace by surprise. The young knight was slightly slower to respond but managed to deflect the blade nonetheless. He had vaguely remembered Will telling him about that technique used by Ranger's when they were caught in a close confrontation.

Knowing he had been thwarted, Gilan still began a series of undercuts, backhand cuts and overhead cuts to get the duel going. It would be within this not-so-deadly dance of swords that they would be able to find fault's in each other and take the opportunity to overcome the competition.

Horace, Gilan knew, was not a very boastful person, but would have gained a sense of his own ability from being Cassie's Champion. Now, on equal grounds with a Swordsmaster, Gilan believed his superiority would show when Horace's own attacks had no effect on him and his confidence would wane.

Gilan's Ranger training took over; where he began to blend the powerful techniques he had learnt from MacNeil, with basic combat survival from his apprenticeship.

Horace found himself fending off strong overcuts from his sides, as Gilan strafed around him, using his heightened agility against the warrior.

Knowing he had found a technique that worked for him, Gilan pursued his attacks, forcing himself to move faster, taking Horace outside his comfort zone.

The young knight was quick for his size, but had no chance against the lithe Ranger.

Both swordsmen were experts at judging fights, as were most the people that looked on. Horace knew the pivotal point of the fight was emerging and if he didn't react soon, he would be beaten down by Gilan's exhausting attacks.

"Gilan's using his speed against Horace." Halt noted coolly from where he stood.

"He can't keep it up for long though." Will added, feeling that this little contest had pitted him against his mentor on who should win.

"No, perhaps not." Halt agreed. "But I bet if it keeps going this way, Horace will give in first. He's used to rough and ready battles of people brandishing swords and using sheer weight. Gilan's fighting like a fox against a bear, except this fox has a huge broadsword."

Gilan felt the younger man beneath him falter as his sword once more clashed against his and smiled in triumph. It was only slight, but he knew Horace was beginning to give out.

On his next swing, instead of darting around as he had been, he set himself straight and held his ground as he went for an overcut, which was hastily blocked, and then immediately went for a side cut to his opponent's exposed middle.

Horace sensed it before it happened and quickly stepped forward into Gilan's space, changing the pace of the fight and immediately gaining control. He thrust his sword forward and deftly deflected the cut, stepping forward again to try the Ranger's balance.

Finding himself on uneven footing and too close for comfort, Gilan hastily took a step backwards and when he glanced up, he found Horace's broadsword aimed at his throat, the young knight kneeling before him in exhaustion.

His blood pounding in his ears and the roar of the battle still thrumming throughout his body, Gilan swallowed hard to confine the rush of anger he quickly felt. "You win." He told Horace breathlessly, and managed to crack a smile before his legs gave out beneath him.

Horace merely nodded in response and sank to the ground too, joining his companion as they both fought to catch their breath.

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><p>"That didn't go for long." Will accused as he rushed forward to offer both his friend's a drink of water. "I expected it to be much longer."<p>

"The good fights never are," Crowley noted brightly, glad the whole competition was done for the day. It was enough excitement for one birthday, he thought. "It didn't last long, but look how worn out these two are."

Halt stepped forward to offer a hand to his fallen apprentice. Glancing up, squinting slightly against the sun, Gilan sighed heavily and accepted the help as he regained his footing.

"Lost, twice in one day, eh?" He joked, brushing off dirt from his pants as he did.

"You know what you're good at, but there are some things people are better at. Can't be the best of everything."

"I suppose not." Gilan conceded as he fought to catch his breath.

"Though it looked as if you had the advantage for the fight." His former mentor went on, unhelpfully.

"Mhm," Gilan gave a slight cough and then stretched languidly, "He faltered deliberately, as a way to let my guard down. I fell for it. Such a stupid thing of me to do."

"You fought well, MacNeil would be proud." Halt offered.

"And you?" Gilan questioned with a slight smile.

"Stupid question." Halt replied bluntly, and then decided to go talk to his friend Crowley.

Gilan simply laughed.

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><p>Will watched as Gilan talked to Halt and listened from the short distance.<p>

Near him, Horace had also gotten back on his feet with the help of Evanlyn. After the fight she had flung her arms around his neck and given him a small peck on the cheek, something she claimed she was allowed to do as a servant and _not_ the Princess, much to Horace's embarrassment.

"I told you, you could do it!" She enthused, unable to let her hands drop from Horace's arms or sides. "You're sure you are okay?"

Horace nodded numbly, still slightly in shock by her open display of affection more than anything. "He didn't land a blow on me so I'm just tired, that's all."

"You did really well, Horace." Will voiced, once he focused back on his friend at hand.

"Thanks Will, but honestly that fight wasn't going for me. I had to play dirty at the end there." He admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"Gilan had me the whole time in a vulnerable spot; he was letting the fight drag on, probably to see if anything interesting would happen."

"Horace!"

"What Cass, it's not like I could do anything. I was trying my hardest not to lose the fight, I didn't have much time to be offensive."

"So you faltered." Will murmured, more to himself.

"Yeah, I did." Horace confirmed, nodding slightly. "I gave him what he wanted, which was me to give in, even if it was faked, so I could then make my move. I guess it worked though." He shrugged. In the end the young knight was satisfied that he had kept his honour and didn't feel he needed to boast about it. "Now that the fight's over, I could go for some of the Araluen Chef's sweet pastries." He noted absently. "Come on Will."

"Alright, in a moment." The young Ranger called out as his friend retreated to the food tables.

Suddenly he grinned, knowing that between the two, a winner hadn't really been defined. He wondered briefly whether he should argue about it with Halt again.

After a few seconds thought, Will gave himself a mental shrug and decided that finding out who was the true Swordsmaster, was a contest that could be fought on another day.

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><p><strong>AN:**

So everyone knows I have a soft spot for Horace, so he won, but mostly so he could keep his champion's honour. At the end though, we don't know _who_ was the better player ;) Some could argue Gilan was and gave up the win... I will not pass judgement though :P I like the ambiguousness of it. xD

I hope it satisfied everyone who reviewed the first chapter! Sorry again about the wait!

- Mae.


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